MOSCOW: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said July 10 that the country has never agreed with Japan’s policy to conclude a World War II peace treaty after resolving a territorial dispute between Tokyo and Moscow.

While saying that he knows Japan has been saying it will conclude the peace treaty only if the territorial dispute is resolved, Lavrov claimed that the policy was not based on a mutual agreement.

 Japan and Russia have been in agreement to accelerate their efforts to conclude the peace treaty based on the 1956 Japan-Soviet joint declaration, Lavrov said.

The peace treaty should be comprehensive and reflect current international affairs, Lavrov said. The Russian side has been suggesting such an idea to Tokyo but received no response so far, he said.

Lavrov also complained about Japan’s continuing sanctions against Russia.

The territorial issue concerns four Russian-held northwestern Pacific islands seized by the former Soviet Union from Japan at the end of World War II. The dispute has prevented Tokyo and Moscow from concluding a peace treaty to formally end their wartime hostilities.

JIJI Press